Monthly Archives: September 2012

Lexus and Scholastic Launch Sixth Annual Environmental Contest with $500,000 in Grants and Scholarships to be Awarded

Young people are committed to making a difference in the world, and for the sixth year, their efforts will be rewarded through the Lexus Eco Challenge. An educational program and contest, the Lexus Eco Challenge has inspired and empowered more than 22,000 middle and high school students to learn about the environment and take action to improve it. For their efforts, more than $3.5 million has been awarded to students, teachers and schools across the nation. This fall, students are invited to participate for a chance to win part of $500,000 in grants and scholarships. Lexus, the luxury automaker, has once again joined with Scholastic Inc., the global children’s publishing, education and media company, to create the eco-friendly educational school program.

“The Lexus Eco Challenge is an integral part of the environmental studies curriculum at our school,” said Ashlie Beals, teacher advisor for the 2011 grand prize-winning team called the “One-Towel Wonders.” ”For the past five years all of my 8th grade students have worked in teams to create and implement innovative campaigns to encourage others to make one small change that can have a large positive impact on our environment. During the challenge students sharpen their oral and written communication skills, utilize many forms of technology, and work together actively and enthusiastically to solve real-life problems. My younger students eagerly look forward to their chance to participate in the challenge when they are in 8th grade. I can’t thank Lexus and Scholastic enough for offering this tremendous opportunity to my students.”

The Challenge has two distinct elements:

Standards-based supplementary educational materials – encourages teachers to integrate creative lesson plans into their classrooms to help teach students about the environment.

Competition to reward environmental action – helps young people apply what they’ve learned in class through the program and empowers them to make improvements in their community by participating in the environmental team challenges.

“Year after year students tell us that the Lexus Eco Challenge helped them learn how to improve the environment,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “But they say the most important aspect of the competition is the revelation that they can make a difference. That knowledge and experience will be powerful as their generation takes responsibility for making decisions about the environment.”

The Challenges and Rewards
The Lexus Eco Challenge registration is open now and will conclude with the announcement of the first-place and grand-prize-winning teams in spring 2013. Middle and high school teams, comprised of 5-10 students and a teacher advisor, are invited to participate in one or both of the two initial challenges, each addressing different environmental elements – land/water and air/climate.

For each of the challenges, teams define an environmental issue that is important to them, develop an action plan to address the issue, implement the plan, and report the results. Submission deadlines are: Challenge #1 (land/water) – Oct. 29, 2012 and Challenge #2 (air/climate) – Dec. 17, 2012.

Each of the challenges will have 16 winning teams – eight middle school and eight high school teams. The winning teams will each receive a total of $10,000 in scholarships and grants to be shared among the students, teacher and school. In addition, the winning action plans will be featured on a special Web page to inspire other students to take action in their communities.

In early January, the winning teams from the first two challenges will be invited to participate in the Final Challenge. Teams will be asked to reach beyond the local community and inspire environmental action around the world through innovative ideas that are communicated to a wide audience. From the Final Challenge entries, eight first-place teams and two grand-prize-winning teams will be selected. Each of the eight first-place teams will receive a total of $15,000 in grants and scholarships, and the two grand-prize-winning teams will each receive $30,000. The money will be shared by the students, their teacher advisors and their schools.

Lexus’ Environmental Efforts
Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader with five low-emission hybrid vehicles available. When Lexus began selling hybrids in 2005, it helped advance the concept of sustainability without sacrifice. The Lexus Eco Challenge is part of The Lexus Pursuit of Potential, a philanthropic initiative that generates up to $3 million in donations each year for organizations that help build, shape and improve children’s lives.

Lexus is launching a compelling and progressive marketing campaign to introduce the 2013 Lexus ES, its top-selling sedan. The entirely new ES represents the latest step forward in Lexus design — including next-generation technologies in connectivity and safety, as well as the first-ever ES hybrid.

“The new ES proves what’s possible when advanced technology is elevated by style,” said Brian Smith, Lexus vice president of marketing. “The launch campaign is strategically built to showcase the vehicle’s many impressive innovations with equally captivating and engaging marketing initiatives.”

Double Take
After the successful launch of the GS sport sedan earlier this year, the 2013 Lexus ES and ES hybrid continue to prove there is no going back for the automaker. The campaign’s television commercials set out to demonstrate that when high-tech and high-style are combined with purpose, the results can be dramatic.

In the first general market spot, “Split World,” the 2013 ES makes its debut through mirrored images. Architecture, cyclists, trees and bridges create an eye-catching and intriguing world as the vehicle is gradually revealed, dynamically driving along and through this split world. The spot draws attention to the exterior, featuring the bold new styling and clean, sculpted lines of the car in a way that is fresh, unexpected and visually engaging.

The second general market national ad, “Infinite Glances,” uses a dynamic infinite zoom to emphasize the ES’ ability to captivate again and again. As the viewer travels through an urban, bustling city filled with streetlights, pedestrians, cabs and cars it becomes apparent that every car is the new ES. The camera zooms alongside, past, and even straight through multiple vehicles, getting slow-motion looks at the new design, particularly the spacious interior with advanced technology and a modern design. While the zoom fluctuates in speed, it never changes direction, but is always pushing forward through this world. The spot provides intriguing and kinetic moments, and in the process showcases the many ES features that make it ever more compelling each time the car is seen.

Three additional spots geared toward African-American, Hispanic and LGBT audiences will also air at launch: “Make your Mark,” “Future Unfolded” and “Mark of Pride.”

Marketing Campaign Extensions
The ES launch will kick off a brand initiative built entirely upon Lexus’ social media channels. “Lexus Ignition” will curate start-up projects from entrepreneurs and innovators — products that, like Lexus, represent the intersection of high-tech and high-style — and invite Lexus’ digital community to vote for the products they like most via a custom Facebook app. In total, Lexus will provide $100,000 in seed funding to four fan favorites. The products all push the boundaries of design, technology and innovation, including an RFID-based camera and a foldable electric bicycle.

An additional program that combines social and digital media experiences will make Lexus the first-ever automotive manufacturer to create a Brand Magazine on Flipboard, the world’s first social magazine designed for iPad, iPhone and Android. Content from Lexus’ Twitter feed will help populate the Brand Magazine. Lexus will also run ads in the Flipboard channels of Esquire and ESPN.

In the sports arena this season, Lexus will sponsor the ESPN Saturday Afternoon College Football Halftime Show. The sponsorship includes activations across online, mobile and tablet platforms.

To further extend the ES “Stunning Work of Technology” campaign to a highly engaged audience, Lexus has secured heavy primetime premiere schedules across ABC and NBC, as well as a local Emmys sponsorship in Lexus top markets.

The print campaign will be featured prominently in Vanity Fair, Elle Décor and Sports Illustrated. Key out-of-home elements include full-motion video boards at DC Gallery Place and digital boards in New York City’s Times Square. Additionally, “Split World” will run in more than 1,500 movie theaters in 183 markets.

The broadcast spots begin airing tonight during primetime, late night, cable programs, network and cable sports, and spot TV. Additional sports broadcast packages include multi-channel advertising with NFL, NHL and NCAA Football on ESPN. The spots are also available at www.YouTube.com/lexusvehicles.